Butterfly timelapse videos!

It’s particularly interesting to see these color changes as the butterflies develop–and then they suddenly turn a milky color. What’s happening?

In preparation for shedding a skin, an insect secretes moulting fluid. This liquid separates the old skin from the new one underneath it–and eventually partially dissolves the cuticle. This changes the color and opacity of the skin.

Check out our Wish List!

The insect educational program I run has a wish list for supplies we use regularly to care for our animals:
Bug Barn Amazon Wish List
Please consider buying the Bug Barn some cages or crayons! That lets me use the savings to hire more undergraduates for hands on training.